BlackBerry Got the Platform Right, but Must Work on Hardware: Analyst

BlackBerry would seem to have that base covered, then, but there is no shortage of analysts who have written that the company will more likely live or die by the number of apps in its app store. As of the Jan. 30 announcement, BlackBerry World had more than 70,000 to offer, and by the time the Z10 and Q10 arrive in the United States, that figure will have exceeded 100,000, according to executives. Analysts, pointing to Google's more than 700,000 Android apps and Apple's nearly 800,000 apps for iOS, said that's not nearly enough.
Milanesi likened the talk of apps to the way megapixels in mobile cameras or cores in processors have been latched onto as numbers to compare, though they're largely meaningless without the context of the rest of the device.
"The whole 'mine is bigger than yours' is what people talk about, but they should look at quality over quantity. You need the 1,000 top apps, and then it doesn't really matter."
Regarding quality, she said that a lot of the apps in BlackBerry World are Android apps that have been converted via a tool BlackBerry offers developers.

"They run a risk of not having high-quality apps across the store. The consumer won't know which was developed for BlackBerry 10; there's no flashing light over an app that says, 'This was an Android app.'"

Milanesi added that she wants to see more focus on the developer side, and that in six months' time, as a gauge of BlackBerry 10's success, she'll be looking at how much money the wireless carriers are putting into it and which carriers make BlackBerry a flagship product.
One other note of advice, she added, considering BlackBerry's need to attract eyeballs: "A little color has never hurt anyone."